ELKA problem

[anthony422]

Really like my Elka shocks I purchased thru pitbull but got direct from ELKA, ..... shocks may have 750 miles , One leaks so I call ELKA and they tell me the miles on the shock is irrelevant and all that matters is how long I've had them, so that being said its out of warranty. So off to West Virginia to be serviced at my expense.... Its not about the money, but Eric from ELKA tells me that they need to be removed and serviced every year,and we should know that, its in the paper work. Shame on me for not knowing I have to remove my expensive shocks every year and get them repacked,... sorry not really what I had in mind. Eric tells me if you want to drive a Ferrari you have to change the oil...correct? just pretty poor to me

[Tom in NM]

. . . . but I sure as Heck would not replace them with something that requires that kind of pampering.

Thanks for the heads-up. Sorry you had to learn it the hard way.

Tom

[Chupaca]

must be why the guys around here going to the high tech shocks are using Race Tech. Does seem a bit much that you have to service them every year...must be in the fine print somewhere. Seal can dry out if not used in time but a lot of time. Thought they were better company then this...

[Mazo EMS2]

And to think I was pondering getting a set....No thanks, after seeing two threads in two days about bad quality and bad service. Perhaps they're having growing pains??? Don't know, but count me out til they get it together. removing and serving a shock every year, regardless of miles,???? WTH?

[Marker]

Never heard of that before.

Here is Elka Maintenance chart page 15 and 16 right off their web site http://www.elkasuspension.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/ELKA-OWNERSMANUAL-MOTO.pdf

[Retired 2012]

Wow,
So the oil and the seals need to be replaced every year.
I think for the average spyder rider that is a lot of work and added cost.
Sounds like they expect these to be raced or jumped a lot, I certainly won't be doing any of that.
Sorry about your unusable shock. What other shocks are you thinking of using?

[Bee Mera]

And to think I was pondering getting a set....No thanks, after seeing two threads in two days about bad quality and bad service. Perhaps they're having growing pains??? Don't know, but count me out til they get it together. removing and serving a shock every year, regardless of miles,???? WTH?

WOW, count me out too!!

[oldgoat]

Me no likey!!!

I'll limit my maintenance to keeping them clean. I'm not a friggin' millionaire ( well maybe I am, but a mean one).

[anthony422]

I kid you not ... Not only am I sending them out to a third party in West Virginia in sending both .... I don't trust it. I don't do very well with these Canadian companies love the people but business wise they just don't get it ... It's an expensive shock you can't tell me I have to yank it for service every year because it's a performance shock it's insulting ... And trust me I heard it .. And of course my expense shipping loss of machine ect quite a joke and I love the shock it's just a shame

[anthony422]

My take is this ... It's your name and reputation clearly you don't mean to sell a product that fails after under 1k miles .... I'm sure their shock was meant to be more durable , therefore FAIL
That being said as a company you take responsibility and do the right thing which should be .....send a direct replacement with a paid return label which allows the customer to swap and reship quickly and they should apologize for the damn hassle of jacking the machine and doing the work when I should be riding .....and you are aware which coarse was chosen ... Holy smokes what a great business move thata boy

[900Dave]

I kid you not ... Not only am I sending them out to a third party in West Virginia in sending both .... I don't trust it. I don't do very well with these Canadian companies love the people but business wise they just don't get it ... It's an expensive shock you can't tell me I have to yank it for service every year because it's a performance shock it's insulting ... And trust me I heard it .. And of course my expense shipping loss of machine ect quite a joke and I love the shock it's just a shame

I also sent mine to WV (Impact Solutions) I think was the name of the company. No problem there they treated me well got back to me fairly quickly when I called or left an email. I also had them back (shocks) in about 10 or 11 days. I sent them the leaker and the other front shock to have it serviced. I had 7 or 8 thousand miles on the shocks.

I also missed the fine print about the yearly rebuilds. How disapointing!!! The shocks perform above expectation but $85 a year per shock and I have 3 of them. I am not happy about it. I did not send my rear shock out as it did not leak. I will see if I can make it two years on that one.

[MEP]

Not good. Thanks for this information.

[Centurion]

Thanks for the information from everyone, I don't think these two posts can all be isolated incidents. It sounds to me like a very poor product and poor customer service.

[PMK]

As a motorcycle suspension tuner since the mid 70's, I will say the Elka recommended rebuild interval is fairly routine and common with most brands.

I won't praise nor condemn Elka, I have seen pretty much every brand have leaks and seal failures happen prior to the recommended service interval.

Stinks, but it is real. Hopefully the shop gets you setup with no issues.

If it matters, since you are paying for the service work, it may be better to order some spare seals, and then just let a quality suspension shop that is local turn them around in a day.

PK

[JerryB]

Hi PMK,

Re: As a motorcycle suspension tuner since the mid 70's, I will say the Elka recommended rebuild interval is fairly routine and common with most brands.

Not an argument, only a question based upon your experience. Are you saying this for what might be termed 'high performance' shocks or are you saying this for all shocks, including the factory supplied items?

I've had cars/pickups go 200k miles with factory shocks.

Jerry Baumchen

[PMK]

Hi PMK,

Re: As a motorcycle suspension tuner since the mid 70's, I will say the Elka recommended rebuild interval is fairly routine and common with most brands.

Not an argument, only a question based upon your experience. Are you saying this for what might be termed 'high performance' shocks or are you saying this for all shocks, including the factory supplied items?

I've had cars/pickups go 200k miles with factory shocks.

Jerry Baumchen

Jerry, FWIW, the shocks you mention, supplied as oem on a car or truck, and can not be taken apart to service do not apply. There is nothing that can be done, unless you modify them, so they are disposable.

Does the oil breakdown and seals wear in non rebuildable shocks also? The answer is yes. Also, many of those are low performance and stress the fluid less, so it does last longer.

Will an Elka or other high performance series shock last a long time. They certainly can. I have worked on stuff that had not been apart for many years, simply replaced a main seal and fluid and went many more years.

The Elka and other shock manufacturers 12 month interval is a recommendation. It is not a requirement.

The average Spyder is not punishing the front shocks in most cases. Like a car, the shocks move very little unless encountering a bump. These 12 month, and sometimes less intervals are based on more of a performance situation where the suspension is more intensely used. It is published though, so it does allow Elka to make a case by case judgement if there is a true warranty claim.

Elka having the stuff sent to a service center in the US is actually good customer service. They have removed customs and delays there. The shocks are simple by design and should be an easy rebuild. $85 per shock is very reasonable, assuming it includes parts and fluid. That gives the tech about 45 minutes per shock to log the incoming settings paperwork for spring length, and clicker settings plus visual inspection. Then remove the spring, degas and disassemble. Clean and inspect all parts. Replace seals, reassemble while servicing fluid and N2. Not sure what seal Elka uses on the main shaft for a seal, but some of them can retail in the $10>$15 range, others can be inexpensive. The fluid often is high end, and can retail as high as $25 per litre.

For comparison, and I have not read the warranty info. Since a Ford Raptor comes equipped with Fox suspension as oem. I wonder if they have a recommended service interval on those shocks and if they fall outside the oem warranty items.

PK

[Roadster Renovations]

Sorry for your experience with them. As an auto mechanic I replace struts and shocks with ones that come with a lifetime warranty all the time. Rarely do they fail. Not sure why a performance product can't be built that way also. As for me, I will continue to use the factory shocks and my spring stiffeners.

[JerryB]

Hi PMK,

Thank you for the explanation. I learned something today.

However, I think I'll stick with my less-performance factory shocks. For me, removing/shipping/re-installing once a year is simply not acceptable.

Jerry Baumchen

[PMK]

Hi PMK,

Thank you for the explanation. I learned something today.

However, I think I'll stick with my less-performance factory shocks. For me, removing/shipping/re-installing once a year is simply not acceptable.

Jerry Baumchen

FWIW Jerry, we still roll on the oem shocks with a BajaRon swaybar.

I would like to upgrade. I have spoken to Elka and doubtful it will be them or Fox, but you never know. I have dealt with Race Tech and would expect theirs to be more expensive than Elka. Not sure what Progressive is or may offer, but they can build nice stuff when they focus on it.

My hold out is for Ohlins. I have spoken with them and they don't quite have an interest yet, maybe the F3 will spark it. Otherwise they are a custom build.

For what oem shocks cost, seems they do make a lot of sense.

PK

[Tazzel]

And to think I was pondering getting a set....No thanks, after seeing two threads in two days about bad quality and bad service. Perhaps they're having growing pains??? Don't know, but count me out til they get it together. removing and serving a shock every year, regardless of miles,???? WTH?

LOL I find this discussion funny. Because if the above were true, none of us would have Spyders since many here talk about bad quality and bad dealer service for our Spyders. I guess then we would not have a problem with shocks!!!!

[900Dave]

Thanks for the information from everyone, I don't think these two posts can all be isolated incidents. It sounds to me like a very poor product and poor customer service.

Not a poor product at all. They will outperform (in my opinion) any other shock out there that you can purchase for you Spyder. I just hope all these oil leaks we are hearing about including mine was maybe a bad batch of seals.

[Marker]

I also sent mine to WV (Impact Solutions) I think was the name of the company. No problem there they treated me well got back to me fairly quickly when I called or left an email. I also had them back (shocks) in about 10 or 11 days. I sent them the leaker and the other front shock to have it serviced. I had 7 or 8 thousand miles on the shocks.

I also missed the fine print about the yearly rebuilds. How disapointing!!! The shocks perform above expectation but $85 a year per shock and I have 3 of them. I am not happy about it. I did not send my rear shock out as it did not leak. I will see if I can make it two years on that one.

http://www.elkasuspension.com/suppor...rvice-centers/

Where you sent your shocks for rebuilding is an authorized service repair center in the USA see my link above

[900Dave]

http://www.elkasuspension.com/suppor...rvice-centers/

Where you sent your shocks for rebuilding is an authorized service repair center in the USA see my link above

I knew that before I sent them there.

[Centurion]

..... shocks may have 750 miles , One leaks so I call ELKA and they tell me the miles on the shock is irrelevant and all that matters is how long I've had them, so that being said its out of warranty. e

I respect your opinion but if it looks like a duck and smells like a duck....

[finless]

OK so here is a question. Can a user rebuild Elka shocks themselves?

It doesn't look like it would be that hard depending on the tools needed?

Probably minimum would be a arbor press?

Bob